A few hours in and the game is excellent. Looking forward to spending more time with it. A 4k/60 patch for switch2 one day would be nice but so far there’s very (very) little to criticise and so much to like.
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I have that with most games. Most of the time you got used to the movement of the game you played before and the new one feels strange at first.
6 hours in now and Link still feels clunky to me😂
But Last game I played was Dead Space Remake. That was slow…
So far I really like the Game. But you really feel the frames dip when you start to build with the physics.
So I guess Game Developers all over the World can stop. Diablo 4 is almost finished. There are officially enough games for one lifetime. And with this one and Elden Ring so many worlds to explore. I am Full😂
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I finally had an epiphany about BotW/TotK
You know how, in Ocarina of Time, there were those spots where the ground in Hyrule Field vibrated and, if you set a bomb on it, a secret hole would appear?
Through massive improvements in games and technology people were like “hey…why don’t we make a game where the core gameplay loop is like 90% that?” 
I don’t mean to rag on it. The puzzles in this game are top notch. Way, way, WAY better than BotW. The shrines are more fun. One if the shrines had me amazed at how the new abilities work.
For better or worse, I looked at the time and couldn’t believe how long I’ve been playing…
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I’m initially just super happy with the tone, the music, the gameplay mix.
In Link to the Past, there was always a lot of caves, secret places, traversal between multi-level floors of temples.
I’m already feeling like TOTK has added something back in that was missing from BOTW.
Not that I actually ever had a problem with BOTW, I can take that game as it was.
But there’s something ‘Zelda’ that’s added back with this one. It’s a little bit of that mystic Asian vibe that I’m really digging.
The shrine music is so much more subtle and palatable than the last game - so gratful for that.
I was really getting quite lost in the snow area before trying to find my way up to the Shrine and then had an aha moment haha.
Also! Almost everywhere I’ve been on this island I had to leave some secret behind that I needed to come back to later - probably that won’t happen across the whole world but I love that stuff.
Digging it.
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This is magnificent!
Just finished the tutorial zone, saved before exiting it and I’ll make the figurative leap into the main game later. I really like the new non-building powers - I can tell there will be some wicked puzzles later. Even the building, as tedious as I find it, has charm. The presentation is fantastic, I’m liking the lore so far, and the new environmental details and characters have all been cool.
Mechanically, it’s annoying in many ways. Stamina and inventory management make me want to scream. Weapons breaking makes me not want to fight things, and the dodge timing is brutal. Building is clunky, the controls are generally still incredibly awkward (why is using the bow on the Right trigger? Why does Right Bumper throw weapons? Why is sneak on the left stick?). Despite all that, exploring the world will be pretty enchanting, and I’m excited to see how things have changed in Hyrule.
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I’ve played for two days now and just left the first island. It’s just so lush, all of it.
Even though I haven’t even scratched the part that reaches the surface people say they’ve barely scratched, this still feels richer and deeper than BoTW.
And that’s not to reflect badly on BoTW, which remains my favourite of all time. Just that I get the feeling, Nintendo hasn’t only repeated but actually triumphed over their last success.
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The controls do indeed take getting use to. Even when I was late into BOTW, I would still accidentally toss shit by accident, leading to some rather awkward “wait evil enemy, I have to run over there and pick up the sword I just yeated”, moments.
The stamina, and weapons breaking are things that I’m 100% with you on. Weapons breaking so easily, even bad ass swords, absolutely infuriated me. I would end up having 5-6 cool ass swords/weapons in my inventory for the duration of most the game as I didn’t want to use and break them. For an RPG type game that’s just ridiculous. At least give us the opportunity to keep the broken sword and get it fixed. The weapon breaking mechanic is by far my biggest gripe, and it made me a little annoyed when I saw that it still remains.
The stamina I get, but I can’t tell you how many times I’d accidentally get stuck in the middle of a lake, because of my stamina depletion and have to re load a great distance away and figure out another way to traverse somewhere. That, and climbing up a mountain side would bring me much…mental angst. Why can’t I just chill for a hot second, hanging from a mountain side, rest and recoup my stamina, and begin climbing again. So many times in BOTW I’d be 3 feet away from the top, with my stamina a hair’s sliver away from depletion and I just sit there, raging, trying to figure out how the fuck I’m going to get up this stupid ass mountain side, wasting time that I could instead be using to break my favorite weapons with.
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This morning I felt the surface of the Switch to gage whether or not my son had just spent the entire night playing. I wouldn’t be too mad, but would definitely need to have a chat about responsible gaming.
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It came today, turns out postman was on holiday and so it seems they missed our street yesterday. But all forgotten now and they dive deep into the game.
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Im playing now. Still on the island just taking my time. This game so far reminds me of BOTW, but I like it LOT more. Why? I have truly no idea. Maybe the way they teach you the game mechanics is smoother, I don’t know. The good news is I can see myself returning to BOTW after this and enjoying it a lot more since I know how to play the game a bit better now with only a few hours logged on Tears.
The weapons breaking definitely sucks but ill give it a chance to see how that goes for me deeper in. The crafting makes the game more appealing. I figure I can have lesser weapons for roaming around and save the top tier stuff for bosses.
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One thing I wish you could do would be use the the quick/fuse menu to just eat a few apples while in battles or whatever. I guess that would clunk up the quick menu big time tho.
I’ve gone in a fair way. I’m blown away. The game is gigantic.
I’ve started running off to the main first area as guided, but then I’m happy to recount my steps and flesh out the world a bit more. It’s funny to be playing in Hyrule and then you remember there’s all this sky stuff too.
A note on mood comparing to botw
One thing I am loving is because there’s no Guardians anymore, it’s completely changed the mood of the overworld. That stress feeling is gone and now you can just explore without being laser beamed from 10 miles away.
And one other thing, I don’t know how they’ve done it, but my orientation on BOTW is mostly shot, u can feel lost and like I’m coming at every goal from a different angle. Like my sense of direction is all messed up. Hyrule feels so fresh
I definitely feel ‘underleveled’ when coming up against most enemy camps- it’s definitely tougher in that regard.
But this game is such an overflowing Christmas stocking. Everywhere you go u get distracted. At one point, I was like damn, this is too much choice, I’m bailing haha.
That BOTW sparseness feeling is over for me. This one is a true feast filled with curiosities at every turn.
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Spoilery progress
One dungeon and boss down, Depths explored a bit, some Dragon Tears collected
It has been an absolute ball in that old school Zelda way.
Spoilery Response
Oh yeah! If you went to the same dungeon that I went to it was like Awww yeah! JUST ON THE BUILDUP! The dungeon itself was pretty meh, but had its moments. The boss reminded me of Shadows of Collosus, tho. And that was 
But if the buiild up to every dungeon is THAT ceremonious, then this game went up a point in my book
Still think the world is a smidgen too big
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Before I watch this, is it spoiler-free?
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Surprised that only one or two mentioed the music on this game ( while on music forum 
My son plays it, but I do acompany him sometimes and was taken away and amazed with fantastic sound design in the opening sequence in the tunnel. Shivering experience. I think the music and sound design is stellar. Has its Zelda touch yet its far more “twisted” in certain way and that elevates the overall gameplay to new dimension. Just faboulus on its own. Credit to the developers not being afraid to go a bit more experimental, techno, crazy Bjork style. So for now I prefer just listen someone else to play with my eyes shut 🫣
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Yup, music on sky islands is great especially. And they‘re not afraid to go epic as when the title screen appears.
I‘m reminded how great BOTW was to play in micro chunks of 5-30 minutes, but also awesome for playing hours. It just nails these gameplay loops and TOTK is no different. Never makes you feel like „well, I only have a few minutes, so I won’t start the complex open world game“ but instead encourages you.
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Ummm…it just shows ways of using and combing abilities. Nothing about any of the game. My girl says it’s spoiler free…but I didn’t see the whole thing. I DID however see some cool ways to do stuff. Stuff you may or may not come up with.
So…
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